One of the biggest things that drive me crazy on the internet is when I see “Join The 10 Day Challenge” or “Lose It In 21 Days” or even yet, “Change Your Body With Our 90 Day Transformation.”
If you are a client of mine then you know that I like to keep it very real. I will be the last person to tell you that I can change your body for you to reach your ultimate goal in a short amount of time. Reason being? It is simply not possible.
Can you lose weight in a short amount of time? Sure. But actually change your body? Not really. Yes, it is possible to start to see change in just 4 weeks, but to think you will be finished at the end of this short period of time is virtually impossible.
Here are some reasons why:
We all want instant results. If dieting were easy there wouldn’t be an obesity epidemic. But people they think that if they starve themselves or drastically cut calories for a few weeks or even a few months that they will reach their desired look or weight. How many times have you told yourself that you were going to lose 10 pounds to fit into that dress or suit? I actually just got an email today from a prospective client asking me what I thought of her doing a 10 day cleanse to drop 10 pounds before she started my weight training program. My answer was, as soon as she starts eating food again those 10 pounds will come right back. In essence, the cleanse would be a waste of time. I would rather see her start a plan that can help her shed 1-2 pounds in that same amount of time.
When you drop calories too low, you aren’t able to maintain it. Somewhere in those weeks or months you are going to be ravenous and eat everything in sight. This leads to binging, and binging leads to weight gain. Yes, deprivation leads to bingeing.
90% of all diets fail and studies show that people gain all the weight back, sometimes more with short term diets.
If you are less obsessed with food then you are more likely to stick to your diet plan. If you can have what you want and not be forbidden of certain foods, there will be no need to binge. After all, we all want what we can’t have, right?
Allowing all types of foods into your diet means that if you can have whatever you want it takes out the need to binge. And the goal to a successful diet is simply, the longer you can sustain it the better results you will see.
One of the most common responses I get from new clients is that they can’t believe they are eating so much more and losing weight. This text came in from a client this week during her weekly check-in, “I am down 2.2 lbs!! 126.6 this am. Every night I go to bed full thinking there is no way this is working I am eating so much food and so much dairy.”
Food should be kept as high as possible because the more weight we lose the more the body fights back. Therefore, the calorie deficit should be as small as possible because calories will always need to drop as the weight comes off as the body adapts. Just another reason to not rush things – why go so low calorie if you don’t need to? And who doesn’t love food? I know I do!
Ultra low calories also trigger stress on the body which causes fat to be stored, most likely in abdominal area. Too much cortisol (hormones) slows the metabolism down. Stress also encourages some people to reach for comfort food which will only send you in that never ending spiral. If food is kept at a moderate amount, there is less stress overall, thus, more weight loss progress for you.
Ultra low calories means less energy. This means that you will be too tired to go to gym or have a good workout and more likely to sit on the couch.
Holding on to your diet plan long term and being consistent with it is what is going to yield the most results. It’s important to find a plan you enjoy, that you are able to actually eat on it, and that it works for you, not against you.
Don’t think that you can’t go through life never having dessert, something sweet or even yet, carbs (my favorite!). Life is meant to be enjoyed.
And I can promise you, progress won’t be any faster by doing things more drastically. It will only send you in a spiral sending you back to to where you started because you gave up before you saw results because it was too difficult to adhere to.
So what is the answer? Slow and steady weight loss. While 1 pound a week may not seem like a lot (sometimes .5 pound depending on body size and weight), it all adds up. As I tell many of my clients, keep chipping away each day. Have it become a lifestyle. Enjoy the journey and learn from it. Not only will you be happier from actually being able to eat food, but you will have more energy, sleep better and be less irritable overall.
The main goal in any successful diet plan is to be able hold on to the plan that you can stick with long term. This time, there will be NO reason to give up!
Find out more about why flexible dieting truly works click here.
And to finally get on the plan that you can do long term click here.
